Gusto ko na mag-resign, what shall I do?

        Resignation is a voluntary act of employee which is beyond the control of the employer (People’s Security Inc. vs. NLRC, 226 SCRA 146).   It is a right guaranteed by the Philippine Bill of Rights.

        Section 18. (2) "No involuntary servitude in any form shall exist except as a punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted."

       

        If the resignation is without just cause, the Labor Code mandates that a written notice must be served on the employer at least one (1) month in advance (Art.285).  Otherwise, the employer may hold the employee liable for damages.

    
        The notice requirement may be dispensed with if the employment is terminated for any of the following causes:

1. Serious Insult;
e.g. the transfer of an employee to a lower position

2. Inhuman and unbearable treatment;

3. Commission of a crime or offense by the employer or its representative; and
e.g. slapping the employee

4. Analogous causes
e.g. disapproval of application for an indefinite leave of absence due to illness

        The foregoing causes often constitute Forced Resignation/Constructive Dismissal.   An aggrieved employee therefore, may file a complaint for illegal dismissal before the National Labor Relations Commission.

          Forced Resignation/Constructive dismissal exists when an act of clear discrimination, insensibility or disdain, on the part of an employer has become so unbearable as to leave an employee with no choice but to forego continued employmentSoliman Security Services, Inc. The Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 143215, July 11, 2002).

        Ordinarily, when there is constructive dismissal, which is a form of illegal dismissal, the employer is liable for the full amount of backwages, if reinstatement is no longer possible, and separation pay (Siemens Philippines, Inc. vs. Enrico A. Domingo, G.R. No. 150488, July 28, 2008).